Has anyone else noticed the disapperance of 100w light bulbs from the supermarkets and B&Q? Aparrently for environmental reasons - but now I need to replace my light fittings with ones that will take multiple 60w bulbs :-(
Mark.
I heard something about it on TV news yesterday along the lines of "From
1 January 2009, retailers will no longer be replenishing their stocks of 100W tungsten bulbs".To put it another way, "When they're gone, they're gone!"
Do what everyone else is doing - replace them with multiple 50W downlighters, much better for the environment!
A friend of mine has just had 20 of those put in her kitchen!
T
You can still get them if you try.
In which case you'd better stock up with lots of 60w bulbs at the same time before they get withdrawn as well :-(
Remember that throwing out a perfectly good fitting (to landfill probably) and replacing it with another that probably needs 120W or 180W to provide the same light output is good for the environment^W lighting manufacturers
Owain
Actually, I think many people will go out and buy 300W free-standing halogen uplighters, then wonder why their electricity bills have gone up. I expect the number of house fires caused by such lamps will also increase.
If CFLs were so good, they should be able to compete in a free market, and not need government intervention to force their use. The country seems to have moved to using LCD televisions without needing government prodding.
Sid
Do what is smart, use 25w cfls. Why anyone still buys those energy wasting dinosours for lamps and most aplications is dumb.
Did you know an incandesant bulb is actualy an electric heater putting out light you can see as a byproduct. Think of it this way,
92-96 % of the energy consumed is radiated as heat, only 4-8% is light you can see. And since you pay more for electricity per Btu its a looser, especialy in summer with the AC on.Every building I run I have cut electric consumption by 50%, just from Cfls and T8s. Sure for down lights, motion sensors, work lights, and a few aplications Edisons old invention is better. Buy quality soft or warm white ones with a warranty.
Am I missing something? Why don't you just replace them with "energy saving" equivalents -- I think it's 20W to replace 100W tungsten. "Everyone's a winner." (yeah yeah)
Tesco have a fantastic range. (Fantastic as in "bewildering" -- but you're sure to find a bog standard bayonet 100W equivalent.)
john
In an office environment with multiple light sources I'm sure this isn't a problem - but in my home where I typically have only a single light in the middle of the ceiling the energy saving bulbs don't produce anywhere near the same about of light.
Mark.
... never mind the manufacturing complexity of the "environmentally friendly" ones, or the disposal issues, or the amount of plastic in them, or that when an integrated one fails it's likely still got either a good tube or good electronics and yet we still toss the whole lot...
but yeah, that's aside from the crap light output, slow start time, lifespan reduction on short cycles, electrical noise issues etc. it never ends :-)
There's still a monster 150W incandescent bulb in our garage which looks like it might have been there for a good 30-40 years judging by the design
- Sadly its twin failed on us a few months back. (way too cold in there for cfl's to work) cheers
J.
A kilowatt is better for the environment?
One thing which hacks me off is that they are STILL selling dimmers and PIR switches that can only be used with tungsten bulbs ...
In an office environment with multiple light sources I'm sure this isn't a problem - but in my home where I typically have only a single light in the middle of the ceiling the energy saving bulbs don't produce anywhere near the same about of light.
IMHO they are crap, I fitted 3 x 11W cfls, switched them on and whoa, impressive. A few weeks later, switch them on and struggle to find a chair in the darkness. After that, even when they're warmed-up they've lost boatloads of light compared to new ones.
Motion sensors?
I've just replaced a fixed outdoor light with one of these:
Gordon
Although a firm supporter of CLFs I do think that they are usually over-optimistic in their 18w = 100w ratings). I'd go for at least 22w to replace a 100w bulb and would go for 25W if available.
I used to reckon that each one saved about £60 in electricity costs over its lifetime, but that's probably quite a bit more by now. I accept that there may be some local heating benefit, but since nobody else puts electric heaters close to the ceiling it's fair to say that if you need that heat, that proportion (75%) of the electrical bill that would be better spent on a heating system.
Swan's invention. Edison pinched the idea from him
"Brightness is equivalent to about 300W incandescent lamp."
That's a lie, for a start.
You're having a laugh.
The manufacturers got me with that con too. 20W energy saving bulbs are crap - at least in terms of amount and "quality" of light. I've also had such bulbs fail after a few weeks, they are also temperamental in my cold garage and workshop. Not impressed. So I've stocked up on 100 watt incandescent bulbs and have enough to last for several years, or until the manufacturers turn out a decent alternative at a reasonable price.
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